


Partners in Crime

by appalachianemo



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, also there's a lot of pining during/after some cuddles, and dan is completely oblivious, basically arin is a love-struck pining dummy, but dammit criminals need cuddles too, there's lots of cuddles in this, which i guess could be odd considering their professions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-07-23 17:35:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16163636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/appalachianemo/pseuds/appalachianemo
Summary: I still don't like this title, but it's what i've got for nowArin was tired of killing people for a living, so he decided to help keep someone alive. Except he may have gotten too attached and now they work together. Except Danny is one terrible criminal and Arin has a lot to teach him. Dan proves to be invaluable to Arin. So what happens when someone from Arin's past gets jealous?





	1. Get me out!

**Author's Note:**

> so i already have a lot of this story written. i'm just struggling to stitch together the main plot points. i'm going to try to update every monday night. no promises though.

Arin was really good at what he did. He was able to snag someone’s wallet, snatch any money or gift cards in it, and return it in seconds. He sized up the man standing next to him in the subway. They were the same height, but the other man was much thinner. He kept glancing around nervously, pushing his wild hair out of his eyes. Arin was told this guy would be easy, but that was an understatement. He acted like this was the first time he'd ever done this, though Arin knew that wasn't true. He pulled out his phone and waited. When the train lurched to a stop He stumbled into the other man, quickly reaching into his pocket and pulled out a paper bag.

He figured it wasn’t money, like he was supposed to get, but hoped for some lunch at the very least. Two stops later, Arin stepped off the train, examining the contents. He almost dropped it out of shock. There was $2,000 in it. How had that man actually managed to get it. He seemed like a fucking walking disaster.  Despite knowing this was also the other man's stop, Arin was too distracted to register that he'd gotten off the train behind him. He quickly took the bag back from Arin and looped his arm through the his, “Listen to me. There are police everywhere and they are after me. Congrats you’re an accomplice now. Do exactly as I say.”

Despite the warmth in his eyes, the man's voice was deadly. Arin faked surprise at his admission and stuttered out, “Y-yeah, man. Okay… Can I at least get your name?”

“Just… Call me Danny Sexbang. Try not to look so terrified. Or angry. I saw how grumpy you looked on the subway dude.” Danny smiled over at Arin, and he smiled back, but there was pure anger in his eyes. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go down. Connect was going to get a fucking earful for this. Then again, it was a mutual favor. Either way this guy wasn’t supposed to have _that_ much money. They reached the sidewalk and both went to go in opposite directions.

Arin did not want to be a part of this any longer, but he had no option. He did have the option not to trust Danny, so he told him to go where he said and held on tighter. When asked where exactly that was, Arin sighed and shrugged, still trying to make a new escape plan. His apartment was another few blocks, but he really didn’t want to take Danny there. He didn’t have much more time to worry about this, though, as Danny whispered that there were two officers following them. He gave a short nod and took a left at the corner. He needed a plan, but still the only ones he could think of led back to his place.

Well. All but one option, and while it wasn’t ideal, it was their best shot. He needed to make a scene. Arin suddenly he stepped out of the way of the other pedestrians and glared at Danny and ripped his arm from his. “I told you I didn’t want to go to that stupid thai place! Why do we always have to go where you want?”

“What are you talking about?” Danny looked bewildered and glanced at the cops, who had also stopped, but went along anyways. “You said you loved that place.”

“Yeah the first few times! And before I knew that’s where you take all your little fuck toys! I thought I was special! I don’t want to go there anymore.” Arin stamped his foot. “All I can think about is you having sex with other people while we’re eating!”

The cops looked visibly uncomfortable, hearing what he was yelling. They turned and walked a few steps in the other direction. Danny began to understand what Arin was doing but knew they weren’t in the clear just yet, “Fine. We’ll go wherever you want, baby.”

They had bought a few extra seconds to get ahead of the people following them. Arin grabbed Danny’s hand and started pulling him down the sidewalk again, walking much faster this time. When they heard running and shouts from the police the two men broke into a sprint, dropping hands so they could dodge around people. When they came to the intersection, they ran through it, narrowly avoiding being hit by a car.

Arin snagged Danny by his arm and shoved him down a small, dead end alley. “What are y-”

“Shut up!” Arin flung open a door, and was immediately greeted by a middle aged man with a disappointed look on his face.

“I thought you’d gotten better at not being caught. And who’s this?” He threw up an eyebrow.

“There’s not a lot of time right now, Brian. It’s his fault.” Arin cut his eyes at Danny. “Can you just hide us?”

Arin pushed his way past Brian as he nodded. He continued to pull Danny to the back, shoving them in a cleaning closet. It was incredibly cramped, but it kept them hidden. Danny whispered angrily to Arin, “How is this _my_ fault?”

“How is it not? Why do you have that much cash on you and why are the police after you?” Arin stood to his full height, trying to intimidate Danny. In the close quarters and darkness, it worked exceptionally well. He knew what Danny had done, but he still wanted to have fun with him.

Danny sighed and tried to move, but there really wasn’t anywhere to go. “I robbed an ATM. I guess they pulled my face from the security camera? I’m not good at this.”

“I’ll say…” Arin chuckled to himself and leaned back against the wall.

When he first started out he was terrible, too, and constantly getting chased by police, various security, people he tried to lift things off of. Brian, while he didn’t approve, had always been there to help hide him. He understood that Arin didn’t do this for fun, at least in the beginning. He did it out of necessity. His mom struggled to hold a job for longer than a few months. When she was working she was sober, and everything was nice. But then she’d eventually get fired for some reason or another and she’d go back to drinking.

Arin and his mom used to live above Brian’s restaurant, they’d been evicted once the landlord realized how Arin was getting the money for rent. For several weeks Arin only ate one meal a day in an attempt to save money for a new apartment. Brian noticed how much weight he’d lost when he dropped in one day, his eyes looked hollow and his clothes barely fit. So Brian started keeping a closer eye on him. That was fifteen years ago now and Arin hadn’t had a run in like this in about five.

His career as criminal had as also changed quite a bit in that time. He’d been pickpocketing for five years and had gotten really good. He had stolen minor art pieces and jewelry for anonymous requesters. He had actually made a name for himself. One day, he’d been hanging out outside a known tourist trap, knowing they were way too trusting of strangers, and expected it to be an easy day. Then a woman in an expensive looking suit approached him. Arin thought she was just here for work and had to pass through, until she stopped and handed him and business card.

“It would be wise not to miss this appointment.” The woman stared at him until he nodded then disappeared into the crowd. Turns out an underground group called Connect wanted him as an assassin. It seemed like a strange transition, but they insisted. Without knowing it, Arin had been doing odd jobs for them for several months, and they were impressed with his ability to blend in with his surroundings and avoid drawing attention.

After the year of training he had to go through, Arin quickly became their best killer, racking up over sixty kills a year. He loved the job for a while, the rush of a kill, the look in people’s eyes when they realized they were about to die. He did it for ten years and then he watched his old partner almost die because of a mistake he made and felt nothing. Arin decided then he needed out. Protecting this man was supposed to be that out, but Arin might just kill him, himself.

There wasn’t much space in the closet and Danny seemed to be looking anywhere but at Arin, who kept shooting looks at him out of the corner of his eye. He was completely embarrassed. Partially because Arin had so easily managed to lift the money off of him, and because now Arin was involved with the police. He seemed rude, but he couldn't be too bad. He did help him run and give him a place to hide. Dan tried to make small talk, the silence making him uncomfortable.

“So… Uh. What’s your name?” Danny held his breath.

“Egoraptor.” That had been his code name with Connect, at least.

“Oh… Cool. My last name isn’t actually Sexbang, but you probably figured that out.” Danny was trying too hard, and Arin could tell. He just sighed and closed his eyes.

Well that worked great. Danny studied the other man’s face while he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. In the rush of everything he hadn’t noticed how attractive Egoraptor was. He had brown hair with a blond streak through it that was swept back into a bun. He was thick, but Danny could tell that he was incredibly strong. As he studied him, Danny became painfully aware of the way their bodies brushed against each other every time they moved. He tried to take a step back and put some space between them, but found he had nowhere to go.

Danny looked at the cleaning chemicals again and read labels to try and distract himself and keep from moving. Arin chose this moment to take his hair down and run his hands through it. His shirt lifted up to expose a sliver of pale white skin on his stomach, and Danny couldn’t help but stare. Arin noticed and a seductive smile played at his lips

“Something wrong, Sexbang?” He leaned into him, pushing Danny against the wall, and put a hand on his waist. He could tell Danny was turned on, and just wanted to fuck with him. It worked, as he turned a deep shade of red and gaped “There’s really no room in here is there?”

Arin lifted his other hand and brushed the hair out of Danny’s face, “You know, bad boys have always been my thing.”

As Arin said this he tried to hide his surprise. He surprised by how soft Danny’s hair was, and the sharp angle of his hips. Surprised at the apprehensive, brown eyes that stared back at him, and the little gasp that came from his lips. Arin even surprised himself when he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. When he pulled away Danny stared at him, confused and breathless.

“That was... I’m sorry. That was a mistake. I got carried away.” Arin was red as could be. “I’m going to go see if everything is okay. Stay here.”

He left a now even more confused Dan standing alone in a dark closet. Arin wasn’t sure what had just happened. He hadn’t been that forward with anyone in a long time. Then again, he hadn’t been so  _ close _ to anyone he wasn’t actively killing in a long time either. He was a good assassin for a reason: it involved minimal face-to-face conversations. Human interaction wasn’t his thing. He threw on an apron and smeared some ketchup across it; his usual cover-up after hiding in the back. Arin wandered out to the front counter, still trying to clear his head. Brian was waiting for him and looked angry.

“Listen. I have no problem helping you out. You know I don’t approve of what you do, but I let you do it. However, I will not let you start bringing other criminals in here.” Brian was unusually stern with Arin, but he didn’t blame him.

“I know. I know… The entire thing is just a mess. I didn’t really have a choice. I’ll go and get Danny out of here and then I’ll explain what happened. Okay?” Brian nodded and Arin went back to show Danny out. When Arin opened the closet, Danny was gone. The only thing left was a note on a piece of paper towel that Danny had left.

 

_ Thanks for the help. Call me some time. _

_ xoxoDannySexbang. _

_ (i took the liberty of putting my number in your phone while you were gone) _

 

Sure enough, there was Danny’s number left open, and even a picture to go with it. Arin slid his phone into his pocket and shut the closet behind him.


	2. Do We Know Each Other?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arin knows quite a bit more about Dan than he let on before. Dan doesn't like it.

Danny was a terrible criminal. He was always on the verge of getting caught, yet never failing to escape at the very last second. Because this, a lot of the higher brow criminals in Salem wanted his help. They asked him to be a distraction, and that day had been no different. While Dan had been on the run with Egoraptor, a high end jewelry store was robbed and they never even knew. The men who did it, and chose to remain anonymous, had promised to send Danny $3,000 by the end of the night if everything went off smoothly.

So when he got an unmarked package at eleven he knew everything was okay. This was the highest paying job he’d taken yet. Between what he got from the ATM and now this, he was looking at about $7,000. Until then, Danny had forgotten all about the money he’d hidden in his jacket. Picking it up off the table he emptied his pockets and counted the money. He was missing $1,000. How could he have just lost $1,000? He checked and double checked every pocket and felt like he was losing his mind. He sighed and sat down on his couch, pulling out his phone. He smiled as he read the text from an unknown number.

 

_ -Raptor ProTip: Just because someone helps you out, doesn’t mean they won’t steal from you. (again) _

_ Egoraptor. _

 

Danny debated on how to respond to the text for a few minutes, before settling on:

- _ I thought what we shared was special. You just used me for my money? _

 

He was nervous waiting for a reply. He meant it as a joke, mostly. Though he had to admit, he did have a certain fondness for Egoraptor. After ten minutes and no reply, Danny turned on the TV to distract himself. When his phone finally buzzed again he jumped to grab it.

 

_ -I told you I have a thing for bad boys. ;) _

_ -Too bad you’re just a shitty thief known for attracting police. _

 

Danny’s face fell after he read the second text. He wasn't sure why he was disappointed. The only thing he’d really been hoping for was fuck buddies, since Danny wasn’t the “relationship” type. Now, it looks like that’s out of the question. He put his phone down and turned his attention back to the TV. His thoughts kept flipping to Egoraptor and everything that happened that day.

Danny didn’t want close relationships. For two years now, he’d chosen to be on his own. He had very few friends, most of them only good for a few drinks on the weekends. There were quite a few girls he hooked up with, but nothing had ever turned into anything serious. He liked it that way. The last time he’d gotten close with someone he’d ended up heartbroken and angry.

He’d gone into a downward spiral and didn't know where he was going. He’d tried to pursue music and had project after project fail. His parents had long abandoned hope in him. They’d long abandoned Danny himself. He hadn't heard from his parents in over four years, and his sister in over two. Danny had made a path for himself. He’d helped one of his bandmates steal some music equipment back and realized he was okay at it. There was good money in it anyways.

He was still just okay, but people sought him out. He was making some pretty good money doing it too. Danny took in roughly $8,000 a month. He picked up a lot of jobs, and he was surprised the police hadn’t caught on or made any connections. He wasn't going to argue, however. He still occasionally tried to find jobs singing and providing live entertainment, too, but they never went anywhere.

Around two in the morning, tired of his own thoughts, Danny decided it was time for bed. Maybe tomorrow he’d hunt down Egoraptor and get his money back.

 

At noon the next day, he got a call from Egoraptor. “I’m in a black car in front of your apartment. Put some clothes on and come outside.”

He hung up before Danny could respond. Bleary eyed and still half asleep, Dan changed shirts and put on shoes. He grabbed his coat and walked outside. Sliding into Arin’s passenger seat,  took the hot tea he was offered. The warm cup soothing the tension he didn't realize he’d been carrying. “It’s chamomile. It’s good for your throat. I know you like to sing.”

It wasn’t until his last comment that Danny realized that something wasn’t quite right, but Arin was already speeding off down the crowded streets, “Woah, wait. How’d you find my house? And know I sing. And that I was home. I don’t even know you’re real name.”

Arin shook his head. “Oh Danny boy… I’m a more powerful person than you know. I have my ways of finding information. Don’t cross me… Daniel.”

Danny was mildly terrified but tried not to let it show, “I’ve got people I talk to, too, you know. They’ll notice if I’m gone.”

“Danny. I think we  _ just _ established I know quite a lot of information about you. Let’s not make things up okay?” Arin smiled and reached over to pat his leg. “Are you even going to ask why I picked you up?”

Dan just stared at him wide-eyed, afraid to say anything, as Arin made a sharp turn onto the interstate. “I’m going to help you learn how to be a better criminal. There has to be something you’re good at. Or maybe you just need a partner. Someone you work for has asked me to help. We’re going to a different city. This way you’re completely unfamiliar with your surroundings and I can see how you work.”

“This is fucked up,” Danny mumbled. “I don’t even know who hires me out to do shit, but they know you and’ll tell you everything about me.”

“Well. I agreed to do this, and another favor, in exchange for your information. But if I tell you who we’re working for they’ll kill us both.” Arin looked over at Danny. “And if you find out anything about me other than my first name, I’ll kill you.”

He made another turn onto a county highway and sped off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope yall enjoy this! i'm trying to update regularly, but also like. Keep up with writing and work and the chapters are short, but thank you for your patience!  
> Also, I know I said updates on tuesdays, but I changed my mind. whoops a doops.


	3. Give me Something to Work With

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An odd jumpy chapter in which Arin finds himself a work partner.

After a few days, the only thing Danny seemed to be good at was being a distraction, hiding things, and picking up girls. The car ride back to Salem was quiet, Danny knew it hadn’t gone well. Arin wasn't as concerned because the _real_ reason they’d gone out of town was far different from what Danny though. Someone out there wanted Danny dead, but someone at Connect wanted him alive even more. In exchange for protecting him until the threat was gone, they would erase Arin’s status as an assassin

After this weekend, he was supposed to be done with Danny and the mystery person at Connect would decide what to do with him from there. However, Arin really enjoyed having him around. He was funny and nice and he didn’t seem to hate Arin. He thought for a few minutes about how to stay in contact with Danny. Now that he was going back to a ‘normal’ life, he could use another partner, and with as terrible as Danny was, he’d probably need protection for the rest of his life. Arin sighed internally, time to tell Danny another lie.

“Hey, uh, Danny. We need to talk.” He kept his eyes on the road. “I don’t know how to break this to you gently. But you’re a fucking disaster at everything but being a distraction, and knowing how to hide things. And they’re uh… Bad things could happen. They won't be happy. But I have a proposition.”

Danny had gone pale and started shaking, making Arin feel even more guilty. “I want you to be my literal partner in crime. I’m good at what I do, but having someone be a distraction or just general help can really up my game. I could also try and teach you some basic pick-pocketing, lock breaking, that kind of shit. So, you know, if I die or something you won’t be completely defenseless. Or at least as incompetent as you are now. And if you agree they’ll probably give us like. A one month trial and it’ll keep you safe.”

Danny was still shaking, so Arin reached out and put his hand over his, hoping to calm the other man down. “Y-yeah… I’ll do it, Egoraptor. I don’t really have a choice if I want to live.”

Arin took a deep breath. This was dangerous territory and he knew it. He hadn't meant to give Dan the impression he could be killed. Though that really was a possibility for anyone, he supposed. He plastered a fake smile on his face.

“It’ll be okay, dude.” He pushed some buttons on the steering wheel, deciding at least one phone call could be made in the car, “Yeah, Commander. It’s Ego. I’ve got someone new I need to get measured and fitted.”

“Lovely!” A female voice responded, “Business partner?”

“Yeah...” Arin glanced at Dan out of the corner of his eye. “Can you do it Wednesday?”

“Busy. Either Tuesday or Thursday? Do we need Mortemer?”

Dan nudged Arin, “Thursday. I’m busy Tuesday.”

“Make it Thursday, and no. You can bring her if you want to, though. That’s it. Bye!” Arin hung up the phone and turned the music back on.

“And that was…?” Dan was shocked by the sudden business persona Arin had thrown on.

“She’s a professional tailor and cosplayer. She’s also a close friend. You’ll like her. Any other information about her is hers to tell you. But before she even meets you, I need to make sure you’re cleared to work with me. I'll have to make a few more calls when we get home.” Arin smiled at Dan again, hopeful everything would work out.

 

When they pulled up in front of Arin’s apartment thirty minutes later Danny was surprised by how small it was. He followed Arin inside and flopped down on his couch, immediately making himself at home. While Arin made some phone calls Danny inspected his apartment. It was small and messy, and the appliances desperately needed to be updated, but he figured Arin probably didn’t have the money. Then again, if he had all these connections and was so good at what he did, shouldn't he have the money? There was also, Dan noticed, an entire book case devoted to video games and consoles. Dan quickly browsed through them then went back to sit down on the couch. Maybe that’s what Arin bought instead of nicer furniture . He propped his feet up on Arin’s coffee table and pulled out his phone.

Arin called Connect and gave them his report from the weekend. They ended up patching him through to the person that hired him for Danny when he told them his suggestions for moving forward. They were over the moon that he wanted to continue to hanging around Danny. Arin never did find out exactly who it was, but they let him keep all of the gear Connect had given him and thanked him roughly twenty times. _Why is this guy so important?_ All Arin knew was that he was terrible at about 75% of the things he did.

Before Arin could hang up with Connect he had to “officially” register Danny. For an organization that dealt exclusively with criminals he thought they were incredibly professional and thorough. Then again, they did call themselves the organizers of chaos. Whoever it was that cared so much about Danny wanted to make sure they also had a way to keep track of him. Arin, at least, was used to this because he had been giving bi-weekly check ins for the last ten years. Now they were only going to be once a month, but he had to send reports in on Danny as well.

He told the automated service Danny’s personal information and set up his alias. He decided to just put in Danny Sexbang since that was what he told Arin when they first met. Once they confirmed his information Connect sent the paperwork to Arin for him to print off. Arin grabbed the papers off the printer and a small safe out of his closet, then went to the living room room to find Danny. He was watching highlights from a football game and didn’t hear Arin come in. He dropped a small safe onto the floor with a loud bang, causing Danny to jump.

“Shoes off the furniture, Sexbang. I know everything in here is shit, but I still have my rules.” Dan dropped his feet to the floor as Arin continued. “The past few months you’ve been hired here and there by a a group called Connect. I only know a little more than you do, so don’t ask questions. But they’ve hired you as my partner.”

Arin was lying, yet again. He knew quite a bit about the way Connect worked. Dan, completely oblivious, nodded, “Okay. So now what? What does that mean for the two of us?”

“Well. You’ve got official papers saying you actually work for them now, not just free-lance stuff, and a profile set up with them. If they ever contact you they’ll refer to you as Danny Sexbang.” Arin handed him the documents to read for himself. “As for us, we’ll mostly be working for ourselves, but they may hire us occasionally if they think we’d be the best fit for it. For now they’ll just keep an eye on us to see how well we work together.

There’s a check-in we have to do twice a month, but I’ll handle that. They’ll also be sending you a work phone soon. You’ll only be able to contact people who work for Connect. The friends I called earlier also work for them, so I'll give you their numbers. Until they trust you, you will call each other by their code names. It may take a while. Mortemer and I knew Commander for over a year before she told us her name. Any questions?”

Danny looked vaguely sick, but his voice came out calm, “I thought we were just like… Average street pickpockets. I didn’t know it was this serious.”

Arin picked up the safe he’d dropped and sat beside Danny on the couch, “Yeah… We are, but I’ve done some more intense, and rather difficult, jobs for them. I’m backing off a little to help you, but they’re also going to push _you_ at times to see how well you do. Are you still okay with it?”

“Well fuck, man, I have to be if I don’t wanna die.” He shook his head.

Arin sighed internally, this guilt was going to kill him eventually. He hated making Dan think he was just a few wrong moves away from dying. Granted, depending on if there was anyone else after him, he kind of was. The original threat had been taken care of, but they were all unsure if that person had been working for someone else. The bigger reason, however, made Arin embarrassed. He _really_ liked Danny. After their adventures from the weekend, Arin could see himself being close friends with him. Then there was the matter of what happened in the cleaning closet. But he told himself he’d just been caught up in the moment.

They ate dinner in mostly silence, as both men had a lot on their minds. Afterwards, Danny sheepishly asked if he could stay a while longer and play games with Arin, who was beyond thrilled. Now that he wasn’t forced to treat everyone as if he would be killing them the next day, Arin realized how much he missed human interaction and having Danny with him, laughing and telling stupid jokes, was amazing.

At a little before one in the morning, Danny’s phone buzzed, alerting him to a text. “Oh, hell yeah. I gotta go man. There’s girl who said she ‘needs me’ if you catch my drift.”

Arin paused the game and watched as Danny threw his shoes and coat on at lightning speed. After a minute he said, “Yeah.. That’s cool. Do you, uh, need a ride or anything?”

“Nah I’ll take a cab. See ya!” And Danny was gone. Arin felt a twinge of jealousy as the door shut, and he knew it wasn't justified. He barely knew Dan and he held no obligation to spend time with Arin. He was just upset because this was the first new person he'd hung out with in years. _Yeah. That's all it is,_ Arin thought to himself. Deep down, though, he knew that wasn't quite all it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i know this chapter wasn't super exciting, but it's necessary. i hope you guys loved it anyways! and i promise the next chapter will be at least a little more exciting.  
> and if no one has told you today, you are very loved and cared about.


	4. Take the Key (and This Apology)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to know more Danny and Arin! Yay!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof so this is a day late again and i'm very sorry. yesterday was a rough day. either way, i hope you enjoy this chapter! thanks in advance for the feedback!

Danny looked up the girl’s address and saw she was only two blocks away, so he decided to walk. He could have sworn Ego looked slightly offended by him leaving, but then again, he did leave really suddenly. He didn’t care either way, to be honest. For as tough as Egoraptor acted, Danny could tell he was the clingy, needy type. And that was not how Danny operated, by any means. He was low commitment as it came. If it hadn’t been for the threat of death, he never would have agreed to even be work partners with Arin. Unfortunately, though, that threat was there, which is why he was going to fake the friendship until he was in the clear.

As he walked, he realized Arin lived in the same neighborhood as most of the girls he hung out with.  _ Well this could be useful, _ he thought.  _ I wouldn’t have to catch a cab or bus all the way back to the other side of town. I can just crash at Ego’s place.  _ And that’s just what he did for about two weeks. He’d meet up with a girl around two, and be on Arin’s doorstep, usually drunk, at four. Each time, Arin seemed more irritated, but then Danny would stay for breakfast and talk and things were okay, sort of. If he knew had plans with a girl, he'd be sure to go over to Arin’s to have dinner and play games. He was great at giving the illusion of caring. Danny knew Arin was too kind to see through what he was doing and say something, despite, his growing anger.

It was kind of true, Arin was too nice to ask him to stop. So instead, he had a spare key made for the apartment and gave it to Danny. He was pissed off about being woken up, but Dan was his friend and work partner, so he dealt with it. This was part of becoming friends with someone, right? Figuring out the parts about then that frustrated you and learning how to handle them? Arin hoped the key would show Danny that he did actually care about him and trust him. Danny didn’t seem to think the same way.

“That’s fucking weird. We’ve known each other for like. Three weeks. And I know absolutely nothing about you. I don’t even know your name yet.” Dan was leaning against the kitchen counter while Arin cleaned up the breakfast dishes. He was tired, dark circles under his eyes, and already on edge because of Dan waking him up earlier that morning.

“I’m tired of being woken up every night. Now you can let yourself in and not bother me.” Arin became exponentially more upset. He was tired of Danny using him as a place to stay when he was too drunk to go home, and just tired period. “I just thought this would be easier. And, you know, if you asked my name again, I’d tell you. But you’ve been too busy getting high and fucking every girl in the goddamn neighborhood to care.”

“Dude, come on. All I’m saying is giving me a key just seems oddly serious. Partners or not.” Dan chose to ignore the comment about his sex life, it was kind of true after all.

“Shit, Danny. If a key is too serious for you, then stop staying here every night and go back to your own damn place.” As Arin spoke he scrubbed at a plate, not wanting to look at him. “I’m doing you a favor by keeping you alive. I will not let you use me as a place to crash in return.”

Danny hated fighting with people, but Arin’s last comment set him off. “You’re doing me a favor? How are you doing me a favor? You’re just being an okay human being by not letting someone kill me! Doing me a favor would have been leaving me out of all of this!”

Arin dropped the plate in the sink with a clatter, then stalked over to Danny. He decided that Arin’s size was less intimidating in the daylight, and the Hello Kitty pajama pants weren’t helping, but his yelling was  _ terrifying. _

“Listen, I did  _ not _ have to do this. Because, newsflash, if something goes wrong we both end up dead and I’ve got people that depend on me!” Arin took a deep breath to compose himself before continuing. “You know what. Just forget it. Don’t take the key, but don’t expect to be let in tonight either. Go home. We have somewhere to be this evening and you need a fucking shower. I’ll be over at four to pick you up.”

Arin went back to the sink, and Danny slipped out the front door.  _ Egoraptor is terrifying when he’s that angry,  _ Danny thought, then decided that he would never make him that angry again. And, he had to admit, maybe he could use one consistent, close friend in his life. Ego, seemed to be fiercely attached to him despite their brief time together. So maybe he could try. He would need to apologize, though. Ego seemed like the type of person who would melt and forgive you if you gave him an apology. He wasn't sure how to apologize, yet another thing he wasn't the best at. He knew someone who could help him, though.

Danny had found out the first time he’d met Commander and Mortemer that both of them, but especially Mortemer, were very protective of Arin. As soon as he’d left Danny alone with them, they attacked. Both women warned him against doing anything to hurt Arin. They claimed they wouldn’t do anything physical to him, but they had other ways to ruin his life. Danny believed Commander when she said this, but he got a sneaking feeling Mortemer would kill him.

He pulled out his work phone, Connect was alarmingly quick with getting it to him, and dialed Mortemer’s number. Danny knew she and Egoraptor had been friends for an incredibly long time and figured she could be the most help. She was furious with him when he told her what had happened and bitched him out for a solid five minutes before telling him how to apologize. Before hanging up, she made it very clear to Dan that she was only helping him because Arin liked him. She also made it incredibly clear that she would ruin him if he messed up again.

 

When Arin text Danny that he was waiting outside that afternoon, Danny was anxious about how he was going to act, worried the hostility from that morning would still be there. Dan didn’t like being angry, hated the way it made him feel. Even more, he didn’t like people being angry with him. Meanwhile, Arin was still hurt at the way Danny had treated him, but he knew he had no right to be. They hadn’t even known each other a month, and if Danny wanted to keep everything professional then they would. Arin knew he really shouldn’t have expected anything more.

As Danny shut the car door, Arin began to apologize, “Hey, listen. I’m sorry for how I-”

“No listen, Ego. I’m sorry. I’ve been treating you like dog shit for two weeks now. You’re a good person. Mostly. You deserve better. Truth is, I don’t like commitments… To anything. That's why I freaked out about the keys. But, for you, I’m willing to try to be serious. And actually try, not just pretend like I have been for the past few weeks. I could probably use one consistent thing in my life and you seem like a pretty solid choice.” Danny handed Arin a Sailor Moon keychain with a small A on it. “And, I swear I’m not trying to buy your forgiveness, I just wanted to get you something… Because I am sorry and you are kind of saving my life.”

Arin stared down at the keychain in his hand, expressionless. Danny kept talking, hoping to he’d he’d he’d respond at some point. “I don’t know what the ‘A’ stands for. I was going to get an E, but Mortemer told me to get that one instead. I… I’m assuming your name starts with an A?”

Arin smiled as at Danny, “Arin. The A is for Arin. That’s my name… Thanks Danny.”

“No problem, man.” Danny. “And you probably already know this, but I go by Dan.”

Arin put the car in drive, laughing, “Yeah I know, Le/igh Da/niel ‘Dan-slash-Danny Sexb//ang’ Avid//an.”

“Oh come on. You know all this stuff and all I get is “Arin” and what I can piece together from your apartment?” Dan shook his head.

“What do you want to know? Ask me things.”

Dan thought for a minute, “Let’s start from the beginning. What was your childhood like?”

A look passed over Arin’s face, but Dan couldn’t quite tell what it was, “Well. My dad died when I was young. My mom was an addict so we were constantly broke and moved around a lot. She’d hold a job for a while and keep herself semi-clean. Then she’d get fired and things would get bad again. In highschool, when things got  _ really _ bad, I tried selling art commissions and cartoon animations, but didn’t make enough money to keep us afloat. So, I started pickpocketing. We lived above Brian’s restaurant at the time, and if I was on the run from someone, he helped me out. Then, our landlord found out how we were getting the money, evicted us, Brian helped us get a new apartment, and a year later I dropped out of high school.”

Arin held his breath after he finished speaking, nervous, while Dan stared at him. He knew Dan had done well in school and even graduated from college. He knew the judgement of being an high school dropout was coming. He parked the car outside a small diner, and opened his door, wanting to get out of the confined space as soon as possible. Dan followed, but surprised Arin, however, when he asked where his mom was now.

“She lives in a long-term care facility. I have no way to take care of her. She overdosed one day and by the time I found her, the brain damage was permanent. She’s the ‘people’ that depend on me.” Arin focused on the ground as he walked. “I was on the run from police when it happened. If I hadn’t been so careless and made it home earlier, she might not be.”

Dan felt terrible for asking, so he awkwardly pat Arin’s shoulder then opened the door to the diner for him. Both men were thankful for the break in conversation. They ordered and ate in silence, neither had eaten since breakfast and were starving. Arin had decided they were just going to walk around that night and see what they could get into, maybe steal some money along the way. Arin knew a lot of objective facts about Dan, but he knew very little about his opinions and interests. Connect only told him enough to have a few conversations and keep him alive. That needed to change. As they walked around they asked each other more personal questions.

“I thought you knew everything about me.” Dan said, jokingly, after Arin asked him about his love of singing. “I don’t know. I just really enjoyed music when I was younger. I was in a band and we called ourselves Vacuum because we sucked. I tried singing serious stuff and it never went anywhere, and then I got into comedy music. I created a fake name and persona for myself and everything.”

Arin waited for Dan to continue. He turned a deep red and sighed, “I was going to be a sexy, Jewish superhero who wore a blue spandex suit with a red Star of David on the front…”

Arin was barely holding it together at the thought of Dan singing and dancing around in spandex, “And what was the name?”

“Danny Sexbang,” Dan turned an even darker shade of red, “It was originally SweetNuts.”

Arin doubled over and howled with laughter. They had to stop walking so he could compose himself. Danny continued, suddenly bitter and angry, “It doesn’t matter though. That dream is dead, just like everything else I’ve ever tried to do. So now I’m just some ‘shitty thief’ who is ‘only good at being a distraction’ as you once said.”

Dan shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, and stared at the ground. Arin bumped his shoulder into his, “Aw come on dude. You’re not  _ that  _ bad. I was joking. And you’ll get better. Then one day you’ll have enough money to quit this and you’ll find someone to be in a band with you and you’ll become ultra famous. And then you can sleep with women all over the world and not just my neighborhood.”

Dan just shrugged and asked if they were done for the night, then asked if Arin could just take him back to his own apartment. As they drove, Arin tried to ask Dan about other hobbies and interests he had, but only got shrugs in return. The silence in the car was tense and awkward, and Arin felt like it was his fault. He tried to think of anything to lighten the mood, but he had nothing.

Arin stopped Dan as he got out of the car, “Hey, man. We all have our failed dreams, you know? But they’re never actually failed. Just incomplete dreams. You’ll do it eventually. I promise.”

Danny gave him a small smile and shut the car door. Arin watched as he unlocked his door and went in. The bedroom light cut on a few minutes later, but he didn’t leave. Arin felt awful, hearing the way Dan talked about himself. He knew all too well how that felt.  _ I’m going to make his dreams come true,  _ Arin thought. He didn’t know how he would do it, but he was determined that Dan would become the musician he’d always wanted to be.


	5. Embarrassment and an Existential Crisis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> idk. i don't have anything to say. the chapter title says it well enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look! it's actually out on monday! yay! i hope yall enjoy and thanks for the feedback! ♥♥♥

The next afternoon Suzy and Holly were sitting on Arin’s couch with him, while he talked about Dan. “He’s so sweet, you guys. He had this whole idea for a career lined up, and just gave up on it. I have to help him.”

Suzy and Holly exchanged a look, then Suzy said “You like him!”

“No.” Arin said. “I think he’s cute and I feel bad for him. There’s a difference.”

“Uh-huh. Then why are you so red?” Holly teased.

“Because you’re embarrassing me!”

Arin got up and went to the kitchen to pull their pizza out of the oven. Dan was supposed to come over to eat with them, but he’d changed his mind. Arin had been telling them that he’d cancelled when they started interrogating him. Suzy wasn’t happy about the fight they’d had the day before, but she was glad Dan apologized. Even if he needed her help to do so. The fact still stood, neither Suzy nor Holly trusted him. They both felt there was something off about him, “gut feeling". Despite Arin reassuring them he was a good person, they thought he was using him.

Suzy kept her voice low, knowing Arin had thin walls, “I don’t like him, Holly. I know he apologized, which is nice, but he was still rude to Arin.”

“I know… I’m not sure how I feel about this either.” Holly set her head on Suzy’s shoulder. “But Arin isn’t our child. It’s not like we can tell him ‘You’re not allowed to be friends with him.’ The only thing we can do is make suggestions.”

Suzy sighed and wrapped her arm around her girlfriend, “You’re right… We could always threaten Dan again.”

“Honey you can’t just threaten everyone you don’t like.” Holly rolled her eyes.

“Watch me.”

Arin came back into the room carrying three plates of pizza. He felt a twinge of jealousy at the sight of Suzy and Holly curled up on the couch together. He missed the casual affection that came with a relationship. In his time as an assassin, he’d been very hesitant to get close to people. He knew how awful and ruthless the world could be, and the last thing he wanted was someone he cared about getting killed because of him. The only reason he’d stayed close with Holly and Suzy was because Suzy refused to let him go. They had been friends since high school and she was not giving up without a fight.

Suzy moved over so Arin could sit between her and Holly, they had a sixth sense for Arin’s emotions. While cuddling your two best friends wasn’t quite the same as cuddling your own partner, Arin would take it. Holly nibbled on her pizza for a few minutes before breaking the silence they’d settled into.

“Arin, do you really think you can trust Dan? You barely know anything about him.” She figured she’d bring it up, as Suzy wouldn’t be quite so nice about it.

“Honestly… I don’t know. I don’t know a whole lot about him period. Just what Connect told me and the little bit he’s told me.” Arin pushed his hair out of his face. “I know he’s completely on his own. In the past four years he hasn’t had a relationship last longer than four months. He has a degree in advertising, which he has never used. He’s been in two bands and tried to start a third. He kinda sucks at stealing things, but people have been using that to their advantage.”

Suzy shook her head, “Arin. You really should learn more about him. I can’t believe you asked him be your partner!”

“I didn’t know what else to do! And I didn’t… ask per se.” Arin developed a sudden interest in his plate, as Suzy narrowed her eyes.

“What do you mean you ‘didn’t ask?’ What  _ did _ you do then?”

“Well… I-I.. I may have told him- May have insinuated that… He could be killed… If he didn’t agree to work with me…” Suzy was fuming, but Arin rushed on. “Which isn’t  _ entirely  _ untrue! He could. Connect only  _ thinks _ they took care of whoever was after him!”

“Arin,” Holly’s soft voice cut in. “Does Dan even know that you used to be an assassin, or why you were protecting him?”

“N-no… Whoever requested his protection made it clear they didn’t want him to know his life was in danger. And I didn’t want him to be terrified of me” Arin sighed, he knew the entire situation was fucked up. Even if he didn’t, Holly and Suzy made sure to tell him.

 

Dan woke up, hungover, at three on a Wednesday afternoon. He rarely drank like that anymore, but he felt being reminded of all of his past failures was a good enough reason to do so. He slowly made his way into the kitchen to grab some water and take something for the pounding in his head. He ran a hand over his face as he stood at the sink.  _ Fuck. _ He forgotten he’d gotten into a fight last night. He felt absolutely miserable, and it wasn't just the hangover and black eye. Arin was going to have quite a few questions about that, not that he owed him an explanation.

He sunk to the floor, and sighed. He was supposed to spend the evening with Arin, Commander, and Morte//mer watching movies but if he was being completely honest, the thought of hanging out with all of them made him extremely nervous. Ever since Riley dumped him three years ago, he’d refused to get into any sort of long term relationship. Then, when his sister cut off communication he’d sworn off any sort of relationship, whether it be family, friends, or romantic. He was kind of okay with Arin, but he wasn’t so sure about the other two.

Dan sighed, thinking about his sister. She had every reason to tell Dan she didn’t want him in her life. He was on drugs and drinking all of the time and essentially homeless. She, on the other hand, had done incredibly well for herself. She was married and had kids and a successful career. His parents never worried if she was going to do anything with her life. It was always Dan, and he’d tried so desperately to prove them wrong. He’d gone to college like they’d asked, but Dan knew he’d never use that degree a day in his life.

He typed out a message to Arin, letting him know he wasn’t coming, and put his head on his knees. Dan took a deep breath as the anxiety he’d been fighting off finally consumed him. Arin wouldn't give a shit, and neither would Commander or Mortemer. They didn't care about him. He was alone, and that’s how it would always be. He was his own family, his own friends. Dan tried to calm himself down, and as usual, he got the urge to grab his keys and take off for several days. Losing himself down highways and on the unfamiliar back roads. He needed to stop it. This couldn’t happen, again. He could cancel tonight, but Arin would worry if he disappeared for days. Then again, why the fuck should he care what Arin felt? They were barely friends.

Dan stood up, grabbed his wallet and keys and ran out the door. He sat in his car for a minute, checking to make sure his “Emergency” bag was still in there and everything was in it. He pulled it up from the passenger floorboard and peered inside. A pair of pants, t-shirt, jacket, toothbrush. Yeah that’s it. Dan started the car and peeled off, unsure yet of where he was going. He turned the radio on, and rolled the windows down. It was fairly warm for the beginning of October, and the leaves were starting to change. He’d go spend a few days on the parkway.

Dan stopped at a convenience store and grabbed some food and drinks, and filled his car up with gas. Once he pulled off the main roads he felt himself start to relax. This was what he’d needed for the past few weeks. He needed to disappear for a few days. Dan knew that, really, this was not a good coping mechanism. He knew this was just him running away from his problems. He also knew he was not inclined to look for better coping methods any time soon, so this was just fine.

Dan drove for two hours until it got dark and he decided to pull of at an overlook. He loved living in Salem, but he missed the mountains and trees. Once he parked his car he got out and climbed onto the roof, looking up at the stars. He took a few deep breaths, thankful for the clean air and the quiet. There was still a small knot of anxiety over Arin, but it would be gone soon. Arin cared about him (which was a whole other object in itself to tackle) but Arin also respected people’s personal space. So he’d respect Dan running off like this, right?

“Maybe I should text him and give him a heads up.” Dan said out loud. He pulled out his phone and sent Arin a message:  _ Had to get out of town for a few days. I’ll be back friday afternoon. xDanny//Sex//bang _ Dan turned his phone off and laid down. Without meaning to, he fell asleep on the roof of his car.

When he woke up the next morning it was alarmingly early, his phone was dead, and his back was cramping from sleeping on the hard, uneven metal. Dan slid off the car and stretched his back, looking to where the sun was rising over the mountains. Watching the sunrise, he was filled with a sense of calmness and peace he didn’t really find anywhere else. For those thirty minutes, the rest of the world didn’t exist. He stayed entranced as the sky turned orange, and pink, and purple.

Once the colors had faded, Dan sighed contentedly. Maybe he would go back today. Why was he freaking out yesterday anyways? Arin is the most understanding person he’d ever met. He may be  _ upset _ but he wouldn't be angry. Arin was a great friend, and Dan decided he needed to give him more of a chance. This time, however, Dan would actually convict himself to being friends with Arin. Not just say he will but keep him at arm's length. Maybe he could be friends with Mortemer and Commander, too. Maybe he could make a new family


	6. Confess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arin comes clean about at least one thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey yall! I hope you enjoy chapter 6! Here's some character development

It was the week of Halloween and Arin’s apartment was thoroughly decorated. He had jack-o-lanterns in the hall near his door and a giant spider with fake webbing hanging on it. Dan smiled as he let himself in. Over the past few weeks he’d grown much more comfortable around Arin, Commander, and Morte//mer, even if he didn’t know their real names. He could hear their laughter from the doorway and smiled to himself as he shrugged off his jacket before making his way to the kitchen. He was supposed to be here ten minutes ago for dinner, and his friends did not hesitate to tell him he was late.

“Hey guys!” He smiled and pulled out a chair. “So, do any of you have actual plans for Halloween or was decorating Arin’s apartment it?”

“We do! We’re going as Sonic characters! Arin is going to be Sonic himself, I’m going as Amy, and Suuu-” Holly looked slightly panicked as she almost gave away Suzy’s name. “Uh. Morte//mer is going as Knuckles!”

“Suuuu?” Dan laughed. “You wanna finish that name?”

“Nope. Not now Sexb//ang.” Suzy smiled and grabbed a fork. “Commander might tell you hers though.”

“Yes I will, because I'm not ridiculous.” Holly rolled her eyes affectionately. “My name is Holly.”

“That fits you. I like it.” Arin had gone silent when Dan plopped down in the chair next to him. “Hey Ar… Everything okay? You seem quiet.”

“Yeah, man…” He poked at his food. “Everything’s fine.”

“Okay…” Dan raised an eyebrow. “I think you’re full of shit, but okay.”

Arin smiled, and tried not to look at Dan, who was still staring him down. After a few seconds Dan grabbed some food and ate in silence. Suzy and Holly chattered about Halloween and where they were going. They tried to include Arin, too, but he only gave short answers. He had been fine until Dan mentioned Halloween plans, but Suzy and Holly knew why. Arin wanted to invite Dan, but he was worried he would find it dumb. Suzy glared at him, while Holly gave a slight nod towards Dan.

“Hey Dan,” Arin said quietly.

“What’s up, buddy?”

“We… Uhm. We still need a Tails for our group. Do you… Maybe, wanna do it?” 

“Yeah!” Holly said. “We’re gonna go out to this bar that’s having a costume contest.”

“We’re hoping to win ‘Best group costume’" Suzy added.

“Please? I know he’s shitty and small, but like. There's no way we’ll win without Tails.” Arin stared at him, seeming to hold his breath.

“Sure!” Dan laughed. “I’ve never done a group costume before and I don't have any plans. So why not?”

Suzy and Holly stayed a little longer before they went home, leaving Dan and Arin at the table by themselves. They sat there playing on their phones in a comfortable silence. Arin had relaxed quite a bit since earlier. Dan yawned and glanced at the time on his phone, apparently it was only nine thirty, though it felt like midnight. He glanced over at Arin, who appeared exhausted himself. Dan wasn’t ready to go home, not yet at least. He’d made a promise with himself that he was going to try and treat Arin more like a best friend, and he’d kept it. Dan had also grown a lot closer to Arin than he had ever imagined, or intended, he would.

“Hey, Ar, do you wanna watch some tv or a movie or something?” Dan dropped his phone onto the table.

“Depends,” Arin leaned back and yawned. “What were you thinking?”

“Fuck. I dunno... How about Sailor Moon? I’ve never seen it before and I know it’s your favorite.”

“What?” Arin practically shouted, causing Dan to jump. “Dude it’s so good. We have to watch it. You go get the living room set up and I’ll make popcorn.”

He jumped up and rushed to his cabinets while Dan went into the living room, and dug around behind the couch. Arin’s apartment was tiny and had little to no closet space, so he did what he could with the space he had. He shook the blankets out and piled them on ‘his’ end of the couch and threw the pillows where Arin would be sitting. He kicked his shoes off, curled up on the couch, and wrapped himself in two blankets. When Arin came in he set the bowl of popcorn on the couch between them, tucked a leg under him, and pulled a pillow across his lap.

Dan and Arin knew every single thing the other would do as they got situated on the couch. This was how they had spent about four nights out of the week for the past month. Dan never thought he’d have this level of comfort and familiarity with someone again, but here he was. It was a routine, mundane and normal, but for the first time, possibly ever, Dan didn’t mind. Arin was trying to pull up crunchyroll and find the first episode when he noticed Dan smiling at him. Arin smiled back but Dan didn’t look away.

“Dude, why are you staring at me like that?” Arin turned his attention back to the TV.

“This is going to sound really dumb, but I’m just really.. Happy? Yeah, happy that you decided you wanted to work with me, you know?” Dan pulled the blankets tighter around himself. “Like. You could have said, ‘Fuck it. He’s on his own’ but you didn’t.”

“Y-yeah… I am too, bud.” Arin glanced at him nervously. Now would be a perfect time to come clean about everything. They’re already talking about it, but did Arin want to ruin his trust with Dan this quickly? He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “Hey Dan, can I talk to you about something?”

“Yeah! Go for it.” Dan turned his entire body towards him. He looked so happy and he’d become so content with Arin, Holly, and Suzy. Arin really didn’t want to ruin this, but it was now or never. The longer he put this off the worse it would be.

“Okay. So you know how I knew all of that information about you? And how I was doing someone ‘a favor’?” Arin tried to keep his breathing even and not seem panicked.

“Yeah… What about it?” Dan raised an eyebrow.

“Well. About ninety percent of what I told you those first few days was a lie.” Dan tried to interrupt but Arin kept talking. “The truth is, I ran into you on the subway intentionally and drug you with me to keep you hidden for a while, but you kind of fucked it up. That’s why I took you out of town for a few days. Someone was looking for you, but there was someone at Connect that didn’t want them to find you. So they asked me keep track of you  They asked me not to tell you and refused to tell me their name.”

“Okay… I can understand that. Why tell me now, though?” Dan didn’t seem angry, just confused.

“Because that’s not the end of it. When we came back, the threat was gone, or assumed to be gone. We’re still not entirely sure. Either way, I really enjoyed the weekend with you and didn’t want that to be the last time we spoke so… I kind of… Exaggerated what would happen to you if we didn’t?” Arin was afraid to look at Dan, so he kept his eyes on his lap.

“So… After that trip, there was no threat of death?” There was an edge to Dan’s voice.

“More than likely, no.” Arin whispered.

“Okay…” Dan crosses his arms over his chest. “And… What did Connect think of this?”

“They just… I told them we wanted to be work partners.” Arin snuck a glance at Dan, who looked angry, but not as angry as Arin thought he would.

“God, Arin. I wanna be furious, but I can’t.” Dan huffed. “Like. I’m angry that you lied, angry that you let it go for so long. But I also know that, whether you intended to or not, you actually  _ have _ been protecting me this past month. You were right. I am  _ awful _ at stealing things. I knew it was only a matter of time before I was either kidnapped, murdered, or arrested.”

“So… What now?” Arin asked.

“Well I haven’t left have I?” Dan sighed. “I told you I’m angry. Angrier than I’ve been in quite a while, honestly. That was a really shitty thing to pull, but I know you’ve been very open about our friendship and how you feel towards me. You’ve clearly cared about me if you went that fucking far, and you’ve become my best friend. I mostly believe you, but I’m Holly and Morte//mer to see if what you told me is true.”

“I’m sorry, Dan. I just didn’t know what to do, and then it never seemed like a good time to tell you.” Arin spoke barely above a whisper. Dan’s subtle anger was always unnerving to him. “I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t erase what I did, but I’m really sorry.”

Dan moved the popcorn and scooted across the couch. He pat Arin on the back, “It’s okay, Big Cat. I can tell you’re genuinely sorry. To be honest, I’m not nearly as angry as you probably think I am, nor as I should be.”

Arin smiled, “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Lets watch some Sailor Moon.”

Arin hit play on his laptop and settled back against the couch. He’d expected Dan to move back to his end but instead he stayed right beside him, cradling the bowl of popcorn. That conversation had gone far better than he’d ever hoped it would. Despite knowing it wasn’t how Dan typically reacted, he’d expected him to scream and yell. He had completely expected him to walk out and not come back. Dan just couldn’t find it in himself to be  _ that _ angry though. For as awful a thing Arin had done, he had done so much more to help him. For the first time in years Dan felt like he belonged somewhere and like he had a family.

He could still feel Arin’s anxiety, though, and he leaned his shoulder against his. He tensed for a second, and then let himself relax. As the night went on, Dan leaned further and further against him. Arin was warm and soft and while he was reluctant to admit it, Dan  _ loved  _ cuddling. He craved physical contact of any kind, but especially things like this. They were on their seventh episode, Dan had his head on Arin’s shoulder and was curled up against him. Arin was pretty sure he was starting to fall asleep but didn’t want to say anything. He knew this was just some platonic thing for Dan, there was no meaning behind it. Though, he’d never quite pegged Dan as the cuddling type, but people surprised him every day.

Around midnight Dan got a text from some girl, asking if he wanted to come over. Arin knew not to hold his breath on Dan saying no. He paused the show and prepared himself for the warm mass of blankets and body to leave his side, but it didn’t. Instead, Danny put his head on the pillow and Arin’s lap and closed his eyes. He sighed contentedly.

“ ‘m not goin’... Don’t wanna leave.” He smiled at Arin before turning his attention back to the TV.

Arin woke up the next morning with an awful pain in his neck and something weighing on his stomach. He’d fallen asleep on the couch last night, and, apparently, Dan had fallen asleep with his head on his stomach and an arm wrapped around him. Arin was afraid to move and wake him up because he knew Dan didn't get enough sleep; he constantly complained about the lack of it. He groaned and and stretched his legs, before letting out a soft snore.

Arin wasn't quite sure what to do. He really needed to pee, but he didn't want to wake Dan. He was also worried over how Dan would react when he woke up. Would he freak out at the “intimacy" of it? Arin recalled all the times that first month when Dan felt he was getting too close of friends with him. Then again, he'd changed a lot in the past few weeks. He decided he’d just deal with that whenever Dan woke up. For now he’d just enjoy laying here with someone warm curled up against him.

He’d just started to doze off again when Dan decided to wake up. He mumbled a lazy ‘good morning’ but made no attempt to get up.

“Morning Danny. You sleep well?” Arin rubbed his back.

“Yeah… ‘m hungry. Can we have pancakes?”

“Only if you cook.” 

“Deal.” Dan slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He seemed totally unbothered by waking up, practically laying on Arin. He yawned the padded into the kitchen without so much as a word about it. Maybe he finally was relaxing around Arin. He stretched out on the couch while listening to Dan open various cabinets and drawers. He knew where everything was at so Arin felt no need to go help. He must have fallen asleep again, because next thing he knew Dan was nudging him awake, handing him a cup of coffee and breakfast.

“Thanks, Dan.” Arin smiled as Dan sat next to him.

“No problem, Baby Bear.” He took a sip of his tea. “Did you sleep okay? Your neck was bent at a weird angle when I woke up.”

“Yeah, I slept pretty well actually.” Arin stopped for a moment. “Did you sleep okay?”

“That’s good. I always sleep so much better when I sleep next to someone.” Dan didn’t seem bothered in the least, so Arin dropped it.

“Yeah. Me too. Do you have any plans for today?” Arin figured they should probably get some work done. Starting November first they were going to be pretty restricted on what they did. Arin had made a pact with himself years ago that he didn’t steal from people in November or December.

“Uhm...” Dan thought for a moment. “I need to go find a Tails costume. I’ve got a doctor’s appointment… That’s about it. Why?”

“We need to get some work done, because we won’t have our normal work for two months.” Arin set his plate on the coffee table.

“What’s going on the next two months?” Dan took another sip of his tea.

“Holidays. I don’t steal money from people during the holidays. I’ve had that rule with myself for years now. I know it seems stupid but something about taking money from people at the holidays just feels exceptionally gross. You know?” Arin felt vaguely embarrassed, though he wasn’t sure why.

“Yeah. I respect that. I remember one year growing up, someone stole all of the presents out of my best friends car. They didn’t have enough money to replace them either.” He was quiet for a moment. “What do we do instead?”   
“We steal things  _ back _ for people. So if someone’s presents get stolen, we’ll get them back. I don’t charge people, but they normally give me money anyways.”

“Oh my god,” Dan mumbled, smiling. “You’re a sensitive little bitch.”

“Maybe” Arin stood up and took their plates to the kitchen, excited about the holidays for the first time in years.

* * *

 


	7. Monster Mash!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gang goes out for Halloween! Also there's conflict! And new characters that I'll probably forget the names of. I hope y'all like this chapter. (it's been my favorite to write so far.)

Two nights later, Dan was folding himself into the impossibly small back seat of Arin’s car. “I’m the tallest one here. Why am I in the back seat?”

“Stuff it, Sex//bang. I’ve known Arin the longest so I get the front seat.” Suzy glared at him in the rear view mirror.

“I think that method of determining shotgun is bullshit, but here we are.” Holly feigned a whisper, but knew Suzy could hear her.

“Well Arin hasn’t said anything against it, so the rule stands.”

Dan leaned forward, “Arin this is your car. Shouldn’t you decide who gets to sit up front.”

“Uh. Yeah” Arin shifted in his seat. “For now it’s… Morte//mer. For the love of God. Can Danny just know you’re name? This is ridiculous.”

Suzy sighed, “I guess… He isn't even bothered by not knowing so it isn’t even that fun. My name is Suzy.”

“Great. Thank you.” Dan muttered turned his attention back to Arin. “You alright, Ar? You seem tense.”

“Yeah. Fine.” He snapped. “Just… Please sit back.”

Dan did as he was told while Suzy snickered. He gave Holly a look asking if he had missed something, but she just smirked. They parked the car outside the bar and Dan was the first one out, relieved he could stretch his legs. Holly, Suzy, and Arin all slowly climbed out behind him, though Arin took significantly longer. However, when he walked around the car, Dan suddenly understood why.

He was wearing Sonic _dress_. It was tight and short, but Dan had to admit Arin looked fantastic. His staring as making Arin more nervous, as he couldn’t quite decipher the look on his face. Dan looked kind of impressed and kind of confused, but was staying silent. Arin could feel Suzy and Holly holding their breath. He’d debated for a long time whether or not to get this costume, and just said fuck it in the end. After another awkward few seconds of silence, Arin walked towards the bar.

Dan’s face broke into a huge grin. “Wow. You look great, Ar. We’re definitely going to win this costume contest.”

“Yeah? You think so?”

“Of course. Between you and my rockin bod, there’s no way we couldn’t… And then, you know, Suzy and Holly.”

Their costumes did look good. Suzy had on a Knuckles dress cut exactly like Arin’s, while Holly had gone far beyond and made her own dress. She even went as far as dying her hair pink. Dan, however, had to throw his costume together last minute. It was a pair of yellow jeans and a matching shirt he’d found at Goodwill, and a set of tails and fox ears Holly had made for him.

 

The bar was a fairly small place, decorated with all the cheap Halloween decorations you’d find at a dollar store. Suzy and Holly immediately set out to go get drinks while Arin looked for a booth along the wall. Dan decided to go with him, not particularly interested in drinking tonight. After a minute of searching, Arin crammed himself into a booth and pulled Danny in beside him. He kept a tight grip on Dan’s arm even after they’d sat down.

“You don’t like crowds.” Dan had to raise his voice to be heard, but tried not to yell. “That’s okay. I don’t want to drink so you and I can hang out here.”

“It just takes me a little bit to relax, you know?” Arin released his death hold on Dan’s arm.

“I understand, dude.” Dan nodded his head along to the music.

There was a lot of people here, almost all of them in costume. Some of them were dancing along to the live music but most were ignoring it entirely to yell conversations at each other instead. Dan remembered when he was still trying to make it as a musician, how awful it felt to be ignored like that. He’d tried to remind himself time and time again that he was playing in a bar and some people just wanted to drink. Jesus could have been singing and they wouldn’t have cared. Despite how awful it had been at times, Dan did miss performing. He looked at the stage wistfully and sighed. Maybe one day he’d be able to again.

Holly and Suzy collapsed into the seat across from him. Suzy shot him and Arin a look, “What happened while we were getting drinks? Arin, you look like you’re gonna barf.” She nodded towards Dan, “And you look like your dog just died.”

“Dan is just getting emotional because he misses being in a band and performing.” Arin replied, glossing over his own issues.

“How did-” Dan started. “You know what? Never mind. He’s right. I miss the shit out of it.”

“Oh. Go ask if you could sing. I’m sure they’d let you.” Holly smiled at him. “This band is here almost every night. I know they wouldn’t mind.”

Dan looked at her skeptically, “Are you sure? That seems kind of rude.”

“Dan,” She leaned closer to him across the table. “Trust me. At some point tonight they will probably invite people to come and sing.”

“Okay… Okay. Maybe later.” Dan leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. The thought was so tempting, but he was nervous. He hadn’t sung in front of a crowd in two or three years now.

As if, yet again, reading his mind, Arin encouraged him. “Come on. You’re Danny Sexb//ang! You’re supposed to exude confidence! Go for it!”

Holly, Suzy, and Arin all started chanting ‘Sexb//ang!’ Dan threw his hands in the air. “Fuck it. Alright, fine! But you assholes are standing up front by the stage.”

He was met with a round of cheers, and climbed out of the booth. As the four made their way to the stage Danny’s hands started shaking. He was going to sound awful. He hadn’t really sung in years, he hadn’t warmed up his voice at all, and he had no idea what he was going to sing. They were all waiting by the stage as the band finished up their song. Dan ran his hands through his hair for what was probably the fifth time in two minutes. Despite his nerves, he turned to check on Arin, figuring the crowd around him was probably stressing him out even more.

He didn’t look as bad as he had earlier, as if Dan had absorbed all of his nerves. Arin put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, then pushed him towards the stage. The band had finished the song and their guitarist was walking towards them. He and Dan exchanged a few words before he helped pull him up onto the stage. He gave a nervous glance back to his friends, and they cheered in response. They moved over so they were centered in front of the stage. Dan glanced around the room. A few more people were paying attention now that there was a lineup change.

“Hey guys.” Dan hated the way his voice was shaking. “I’m Danny and uh. We’re gonna play Take On Me.”

Arin, Suzy, and Holly made sure to scream extra loud before the music started up. Dan seemed stiff and nervous and wouldn’t look anywhere other than the three of them. They started dancing, hoping other people would too, and in turn would give Dan more courage. By the time he hit the first verse about half the people in the bar had turned their attention towards him, and he began to relax. By the end of the song, Danny was jumping around and dancing on the stage, and was met with a lots of cheering. Their singer came up and whispered in something in his ear, causing Dan to smile and nod enthusiastically.

He stepped back up to the mic, “So this next song is about fucking. Enjoy.”

They were playing You Spin me Right Round and Dan started jumping around and dancing again, but much more sexually A few girls shrieked as he tangled his hands in his hair and thrust his hips. Dan spent far more time looking at people other than them this time. Everyone cheered twice as loud, and Arin couldn't take his eyes off him. It was clear as day just how much he loved being on stage and performing. When the song finished he stood, beaming for a few seconds as the entire bar erupted into cheers. Suzy, Holly, and Arin shoved their way to the side of the stage to congratulate him.

Dan ran down the steps, still breathless, and practically jumped into Arin’s arms. He picked him up and spun him around before setting him back on his feet. “You were amazing! That was so great!”

Dan turned a deep red, “Yeah? You think so?”

Holly and Suzy hugged him next, Suzy exclaiming, “Oh my god yes! Did you hear those girls in the back going nuts?”

“Dan, that was incredible. You rocked the house even in a Tails costume.” Holly laughed.

“Aww. Thanks you guys.” Dan smiled and laughed. “I’m going to go get a drink and I’ll meet you back at the table.”

As Dan pushed his way through the crowd, people stopped him to compliment his performance. _This,_ he thought, _This is what I’ve missed._ He missed the rush of being on stage, and the sense of accomplishment after. At the bar he got a water for himself and Arin, and drinks for Suzy and Holly. As he made his way back to the table he felt like someone was watching him. _Of course people are watching you, dumbass. You just got done singing in front of all of them._

Dan set down everyone’s drinks and joined their rather heated debate over fig newtons. Arin was a huge fan, it seemed, but Suzy and Holly were not. Dan laughed as Arin yelled about how great the cookies were and how Suzy and Holly were horribly wrong. Yet again, he was found himself surprised at how comfortable it felt. How in just a few short months Arin and Suzy and Holly had pulled him into their lives. It had been so long since he felt like people actually wanted him around.

Dan glanced around the bar, still listening to Suzy and Arin bicker. The costume contest was starting soon and he was trying to size up the competition. That’s when he saw _her._ He felt his heart drop into his stomach.

“Arin.” He was too absorbed with Suzy to hear him. Dan grabbed his arm, “Arin I need you to switch spots in this booth with me. _Now._ ”

None of them had ever heard Dan sound so alarmed, so Arin immediately started moving. The second he was standing Dan dived back into the booth and yanked Arin back down. “You wanna tell us what that was all about?”

 _No, no, no. Don’t come over here._ “My… My um, ex is here... Apparently. And I think-” Dan peered around Arin again, she was definitely walking towards him. He hid himself behind Arin. “Ah Fuck. She’s coming over here.”

Suzy, Holly, and Arin all exchanged glances. They knew this level of paranoia far too well. Whoever this girl was, she’d been some kind of awful to Dan. Suzy casually asked, “Danny, what does she look like? Is she the girl walking over here in the Sexy Unicorn costume?”

He nodded and shrunk even more behind Arin. He turned, angling his body towards the wall and leaned his elbow on the table, “What did she do?”

“She broke my fucking heart, Arin? Why else would I act like this?” Dan tried not to snap at him but the memories of their last few months together were trying to resurface. Not only had she broken up with him, but even months before then she’d made sure he knew how worthless he was. Every time he’d come home from band practices, or vocal lessons she’d remind him how utterly stupid his dream was. How he’d never amount to anything.

Arin squeezed Dan’s hand under the table, “Yeah. Alright. We've got you.”

Suddenly a low feminine voice called out, “Oh my god! Danny is that you?”

He took a deep breath and Arin leaned back so he could speak to her, “Yeah! How have you been, Riley?”

 _She would have to look fucking stunning tonight._ Riley tossed her long blond hair over her shoulder, “I’m amazing! I see you’re still pursuing a music career, despite the overwhelming statistics of failure. Not to mention, the odds of you becoming a drug addict or an alcoholic.” She narrowed her eyes at how close he was sitting to Arin. “Not sure what the correlation is between being a failing musician and becoming gay, however.”

“Riley, why did you come over here?” Dan sounded exhausted. He was also worried because he could feel Arin getting tense next to him.

“Am I not allowed to check up on an old friend? I’m concerned. Last time I saw you, you were living out of your car and-” She glared at Suzy, who interrupted her.

“I’m gonna stop you right there. You’re not concerned.” Suzy stood up, she was shorter than Riley, but far more intimidating. “You just came over here to make Dan feel like shit. I’m not going to let that happen.”

“I’m sorry. Who are you?” She glared at Suzy before looking at Arin and Holly. “Who are any of you to him?”

“We’re his best friends, and you can fuck off now.” Suzy looked in awe at Holly, she’d never heard her sound so mean.

“Correction, we’re his fucking family. The rest of Holly’s statement stands however.” Arin gave Dan's hand a squeeze as he said this.

Riley stood there for another second, glaring at all of them, before turning on her heel and leaving. Suzy waited until she was out of sight before sitting down again. She reached across the table to grab Dan’s hand. “Are you okay? Do you wanna go?”

“I’m okay. I’ll be fine. We still have to win this costume contest.” Dan knew his voice was shaking. “Thanks, you guys, for defending me.”

“I meant it Dan. We’re family... We’ve got our two gay moms and their dorky, reject sons.” Arin laughed as he added the last part.

“You’re stuck with us whether you like it or not, Dan” Holly took a sip of her drink while Suzy put her arm around her and kissed her cheek.

“By the way, love, when did you become so aggressive? I like it”

“I was not aggressive! I was simply defending our dorky, reject son.” Everybody dissolved into laughter again, Riley now completely gone from their minds. The rest of the night went by without much excitement. They didn’t win the costume contest, and headed out shortly after. Everyone, Dan especially was exhausted, so they all crashed at Arin’s place.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

_Who the fuck is this guy and why are they all so viciously defending him?_

It was purely coincidence that they’d all ended up at the same place. Clara had finally finished the nine months of therapy and rehab and wanted to go out to celebrate. She’d tried to call her friends, but it seemed they all changed their numbers. She couldn’t believe they would just abandon her after the accident, but they had. She never blamed _him_ for it. _He_ never tried to hurt her, _he’d_ never tried to leave her before, either. Yet here she was, watching him defend someone else like _he_ should be defending **_her._ **

Clara couldn’t understand the fascination. His new… Whatever he was. He was not that cute, did not seem overly intelligent, his voice was terrible. So why had he been so quickly loved by the three of them? She kept an eye on them from her corner of the bar, rolling her eyes frequently. Arin was so _obvious_ with his puppy dog staring. He used to look at her like that at one point. What did this guy, Danny, have that she didn’t? The girl that they’d been talking to was walking past Samantha when she got her attention.

“Hey! I’m sorry but did you know those people up there? They seemed awfully rude to you, darling.” Whether she was overly trusting or just liked to talk shit, Clara didn’t know. Either way, Riley took the seat across from her.

“Kind of. I know the little bitch who was hiding behind his bear of a boyfriend. The rest I have no fucking clue.” Riley examined the ends of her hair.

“Great. He’s the only one I don’t know anything about. What can you tell me? Family, does he drive, does he live here in Salem?” Clara pulled out her phone, trying to seem casual.

“We dated for like. Three years. His family doesn’t talk to him anymore.” Riley shrugged, thinking. “He lives alone on the other side of town and always shops at the grocery store two blocks down the street. He’s far too trusting and very naive… Anything else you wanna know?”

“What’s his name?” This was, really, the only thing Clara cared about. She could find information about him on her own.

“Dan Avi//dan. First name is actually Leigh though.” Riley stood up. “Don’t waste your time on him. He’s a musician with no hope for a career.”

Clara wasn’t worried about him at all. She had far bigger things to deal with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooh is this conflict gonna lead to something dramatic? who knows! (it's me. i know)


	8. Ass Pinching and Cartoon Stealing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> idk man. the title of the chapter will tell you enough

_ “Ego, you never answered my question. We’ve been working together for almost two months and you've admitted I've gotten better at this. Can we please do something more exciting than just pickpocketing?” Dan whined. _

_ “Really? You’re going to ask that now? We’re currently hiding behind a fucking dumpster because you pinched a guy’s ass while trying to steal his wallet.” Arin struggled to keep his voice low. _

_ “It was an accident!” _

_ “Whatever you say, Sexb//ang.” Arin rolled his eyes. _

 

It was only November third and Arin and Dan had interviewed roughly twenty-five people. Dan had essentially been living at Arin’s because of the amount of time this took up. All of them needed their help, but Arin didn’t find any of their needs to be morally right. There were people who just wanted them to steal something because they wanted it, some to get revenge. There were even some people who came in that wanted them to just vandalize other people’s property. Arin needed to have a serious conversation with Dan, Holly, and Suzy about the people they were talking to.

Arin was in his kitchen making coffee when there was a knock at the door. He looked at the clock on the wall and figured it was just Dan. Arin knew if he didn’t answer Dan would let himself in, so he poured the water into the coffee maker and ignored it. Or tried to, at least, because there was another knock a few seconds later.

“Just let yourself in!” Arin yelled, but was met with more knocking. Dan must have forgotten his keys again. “Fuck... Just Hang on!”

He closed the lid and hit ‘brew’. Arin stomped to the door, mentally apologizing to his downstairs neighbors but still wanting to mess with Dan. He loudly unlocked it and ripped the door open, feigning anger. “Look I gave you a fuu-uuck. You’re not Dan.”

“No… I’m a potential client. Can I come in?” The man standing in front of him was giving him a look somewhere between concerned and irritated.

“Yeah sure. You’re just early and my partner isn’t here yet, so uh. We’re going to have to wait on him.” Arin stepped aside to let him in and softly shut the door behind him. “Do you want some coffee while we wait?”

This guy made Arin nervous, and he wasn’t sure why. He looked kind of familiar; he was several inches shorter than him and thin. Maybe it was just because Arin didn’t know where he knew him from, if he did at all. “No I’m fine. I’m Ross, by the way.”

“Egor//aptor. I don’t give out names. Sorry.” Ross nodded in response while they both sat on the couch. Arin prayed Dan would get there soon. He was always better at breaking the ice with people. The past few days had followed a very strict routine: Dan answered the door, Arin stood vaguely threatening behind the couch while Dan introduced them and got them to start talking. If he didn’t approve he’d just put a hand on Dan’s shoulder and excuse himself to the bathroom. If he did, he’d come around and sit beside Dan and get more information. So far the latter hadn’t happened.

A minute or so later, Arin heard the door open. Before Dan could say or do anything incriminating, he yelled “Our first interview is already here, Sexb//ang.”

Dan stepped through the door, hanging his jacket up and kicking off his shoes. He looked up to see not one, but two familiar faces on the couch. He muttered a terrified ‘shit’ and stepped back against the door while Ross glared at him in response.

“Hold on… You’re the guy who pinched my ass and tried to steal my wallet a week ago!” Ross jumped up off the couch, then turned to Arin. “And you’re the guy who helped him run!”

“We’re also the guys who are going to help you with whatever problem you’re having. So I suggest you sit down.” Arin hadn’t gotten off the couch, but something in his voice made Ross listen immediately. “Come ‘ere Sexb//ang. Come join us.”

Dan made a wide arc through Arin’s living room and sat down on the arm of the couch behind him. “I’m really sorry about pinching your ass. I swear it was an accident. The wallet… Meh..-”

“It’ll be forgiven, wallet too, if you can help me out.” Ross sighed. “I’m kind of desperate.”

Ross was an animator and had been working on a cartoon for over a year. He’d gotten the entire first season done on his own. He was going to present it to a local tv station in a few days. There was only one issue: his coworker had stolen it and was going to try and pass it off as their own. Ross was able to give them all the information they’d need to get it back. He knew where this person lived, what the flash drive looked like, and when they would be out of the house for an extended period of time. After some debating between Arin and Dan they agreed to help him out, they’d have it to him in less than twenty four hours.

 

Arin and Dan headed out to the other side of town at seven thirty. By the time they’d get there they would have three hours to get in, find the flashdrive, and get out. By himself, Arin might not have been able to, but having a second person to look was going to be extremely helpful. When they go to the apartment Dan kept watch while Arin tried to discreetly pick the lock. However, once they got  inside he realized that all the help in the world might not find it in those three hours. Whoever this was, was disgusting.There were old take out containers strewn around and crumpled pieces of paper were everywhere.

“Well fuck.” Dan said after he shut the door behind them. “I'll uh... I'll start in the living room I guess.”

“Yeah. I’m going to look around and see if I find a work desk or a safe where they may have hidden something.” Arin set off down the hall. He carefully picked his way through the dressers in the bedroom. People had a tendency to hide things in their sock drawer. Like that  _ wouldn't  _ be the first place a thief would look. When nothing turned up in the dressers, he turned his attention to the desk. He let his thoughts wander while he looked.

Despite the ass pinching incident, Dan had gotten a lot better about not drawing attention to himself. Though, sometimes that ability to distract people was a massive help. There’d been situations where they’d gotten into a little bit of a bind and Dan had managed to charm them out of it. Arin admired how sure of himself Dan always appeared. He’d gotten to know him better, and knew Dan had a lot of anxiety over himself and his future, but he never showed it. More than anything, Arin admired his seemingly never ending patience.

He glanced around the room again, it was surprisingly more clean than the living room. It was decorated very minimally, and had very few things in the drawers. Even the desk was almost empty. Arin sighed, and made his way back to the living room to help Dan. He was carefully searching under the couch cushions and singing to himself. He stopped when Arin walked in, he seemed to have a sixth sense for when other people were nearby.

Arin started sifting through the piles of trash on the coffee table himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Dan, but rather that the apartment was a disaster. Dan stood up and stretched his back, aching from his hunched over position looking under furniture. This was going to be impossible. They still had the kitchen and the office to sort through. Neither men had tried to make conversation, too focused on searching for the flashdrive, and time seemed to be crawling by.

Dan sighed, and headed into the kitchen. He checked the dining table and chairs first, and this time he was in luck. Sitting in a chair was a gym bag with a small piece of the lanyard caaught in the zipper. He poked his head into the living room, “I think I found it Egor//aptor.”

“Oh thank god.” Arin stood up from his spot at the desk. “Let's get it and get out.”

They opened the bag to find, sure enough, the exact lanyard Ross had described. Arin high fived Dan then pried the flash drive off the keychain. It had only taken them about forty-five minutes to find it, but neither of them wanted to linger any longer than they had to. They slipped out the window and onto the fire escape, figuring this would be a safer route than the front door they had to use earlier. Now they just had to get it to Ross.

 

In the car on the way home Arin asked, “So. What did you think of the breaking and entering?”

“It was boring. I thought there’d be far more excitement than that.” Dan turned the heat up and pulled his coat tighter around him.

“Dan this isn’t  _ Ocean’s Eleven _ . There isn’t going to be some big, grand heist.” Arin rolled his eyes.

“I can dream can’t I?”

  
It was a week later, in the middle of another interview, when Arin got a phone call from Ross. The TV station had loved his cartoon and had decided to air an entire season of. He thanked them roughly fifty times, making Arin smile.  _ This is what the holidays were supposed to be about,  _ He thought. _ Kind of.  _ Maybe not the breaking and entering and stealing, but the helping people. The people that mattered to him knew where his heart was, at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so like. this isn't my favorite. i know it's kind of boring and i have no issue admitting its a filler chapter. but the next chapter is one of my favorites and much longer and contains plot and new permanent characters. (sorry yall. ross won't be coming back)


	9. Days Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> we meet new characters! cool! some more mysterious things happen! Arin gets lowkey interrogated!

This was the first day in over a week Dan wasn't spending with Arin and he'd been looking forward to it. Not that he didn't like Arin, he just needed to recharge. He wasn't used to being around people all the time like that, so he told Arin he needed a few days to himself. He had completely understood and sent him out the door with a hug and a plate of food. Arin sometimes took on the personality of a southern grandma and Dan loved him for it. He smiled as he wrapped himself in a blanket, surprised yet again at how happy he was. For the first time in years, he didn't feel miserable thinking about the holidays. As a matter of fact, he was looking forward to them. He'd already decided on the gifts he was getting Arin, Suzy, and Holly.

He checked his phones, no messages from anyone and it was almost noon. _Great_ , he thought, _I’ve got running around I need to do._ Dan stood up and grabbed his mug from the coffee table, knowing he needed to get started for the day. He wanted to get everyone’s gifts today, he needed to go to the bank, and the grocery store. As a whole, he just wanted to be out and enjoy the snow. Dan put on more layers than what most people would think necessary, but it was snowing and he got cold easily. He stood on his front steps for a moment and admired the snow as it fell in thick, fat flakes. The holidays were going to be great this year.

Dan walked into the grocery store and shook the snow out of his hair. He grabbed a car, threw his coat in it, and headed toward the soup aisle. He loved walking around in the snow, but he was absolutely freezing. Tonight was going to be soup and grilled cheese. As he wandered through the store, he kept almost bumping into the same woman. He didn’t entirely mind, she had a warm smile and kind eyes. She was very pretty with thick, shoulder length black hair. Though, Dan couldn’t help but notice the scars across her face and hand.

Finally, when they saw each other at the checkout line, she smiled and asked, “I’m sorry, sir, are you following me or is this just a weird coincidence?”

“I think it’s just a weird coincidence,” He laughed. “Or maybe you’re following me.”

“Maybe. Probably more likely than you think.” She winked at him before setting her groceries on the belt. “Maybe we’ll run into each other again sometime.”

Dan went to a different checkout line and pulled his few items out of his basket. He hoped to talk to her as she walked to her car, but she was gone by the time he finished. He shrugged and began his walk home. It was only six but it was already dark outside, that was okay, though. He pushed his door open and threw his keys onto the table by his front door. Dan flipped the lights on and turned the TV on. He liked the solitude he’d had that day, but now being by himself in his apartment at night just felt lonely. Maybe he’d go see Arin anyways

   

Arin had no idea Matt and Ryan were going to stop by. It was around five in the evening and he was asleep on the couch when there was a knock. He jumped, scared and disoriented for a second, before realizing he’d fallen asleep watching a movie. Arin got up and went to the to the front door. When he looked through the peephole, there was no one there. _What the fuck?_ There was another knock, but it came from behind him. Arin whipped around to find to the two of them squatting on his fire escape. Matt waving wildly in the window while Ryan took a long drag off his cigarette.

 “Let us in!” Matt shouted. “It’s dark and cold.”

Arin sighed and opened the window. “You guys are gonna get my loveseat muddy and wet.”

“Nice to see you again, too, buddy. It’s been what three years?” Ryan put his cigarette out and climbed through the window first. “You could have at least told us you weren’t killing people anymore.”

“Sorry, guys.” Arin crossed his arms over his chest. “It was a really rough time.”

 “Yeah bud. We know.” Matt took off his coat, throwing it in the floor, and sat down on the love seat. “Fill us in though. You’ve got a lot to tell us.”

Arin knew what exactly what they meant. He told them how sweet and nice she was to him. Clara had very quickly charmed her way into his life. She’d given him lots of attention and had an interest in him no one else ever had. Arin ate it up, he’d only ever dated a few people and none of them had seemed that interested. After a year, though, things changed. She’d started getting angry if he didn’t text or call back right away or if he stayed out longer than he said he would.

After awhile, she forbade him from talking to Matt and Ryan. She tried to forbid him from talking to Suzy and Holly, but Suzy wasn’t going to let him go without a fight. She started to pick apart everything Arin did, making him feel worthless. She reminded him daily how terrible of an assassin he was, how awful of a partner he was.

“Why’d you stay with her, then?” Ryan asked. “Why not just leave?”

“I was going to…” This was the part that Arin didn’t want to admit. “But I was terrified. The day before I was going to sit her down and talk to her, she… I… She tortured a man to death, just because she could. She’d kidnapped off the street. And… I tried to stop her, but she kept threatening me.”

“Shit…” Matt muttered.

“She, uhm. She didn’t do anything to me… At first. Eventually though… She started to hit me, and… And…” He took a deep breath. “It escalated to almost torture. Then… Then there was an accident… I’m sure you heard about it. Our van exploded, it was my fault. I saw it happen and I just… Felt nothing. I told Connect everything that had happened between us. Told them I wanted out. They made me work out my contract, but I was able to step out three months early on a favor.”

Matt and Ryan didn’t say anything for a long time, they weren’t sure how to respond. In the silence, Arin pulled out his phone. He didn’t want to see the looks of pity from them, and didn’t want to acknowledge the awkward silence stretching out between them. He was surprised to find he had a text from Dan.

 **_♥_ ** **_SnuggleMan_ ** **_♥_ ** **_: Ar, I’m bored. Can I come over?_ **

**_I thought you needed some alone time._ **

**_♥_ ** **_SnuggleMan_ ** **_♥_ ** **_:Yeah but it’s gotten boring. Is that a yes?_ **

**_Duh._ **

**_I have friends over tho_ **

Dan was decidedly very bored and lonely. He’d eaten dinner and watched TV for an hour, but time seemed to be crawling by. He thought about calling Arin earlier, but worried he’d seem needy and clingy. He’d also considered calling one of his girl friends. The truth was, though, he didn’t want to see any of them; he wanted Arin. He missed him, and Suzy and Holly, but he missed Arin the most. He’d tried to just wait it out, get over it, but that didn’t seem like it was going to happen. Dan got up off the couch, not seeing the last message, and shoved his feet into his snow boots. He grabbed his keys at the last second to drive himself instead of taking the bus this time.

 

“Okay listen you two. My new partner will be here in forty-five minutes. I need to make it **_very_ ** clear, he does not know I was an assassin. Nor will he find out today. Or hopefully ever. If either of you mention it to him I will find those old skills and snap your neck in two seconds.” Arin was standing in front of his loveseat, glaring at Matt and Ryan.

“So can we tell him our names?” Ryan asked. “Or is this gonna be some cryptic Connect shit?”

“And when you say partner do you mean work partner or like-" Matt was cut off by Ryan hitting him.

“Oh my god Matt. What is wrong with you?”

Arin sat back down on the couch muttering, “Jesus Christ, help me. I don’t give a shit what you tell him about yourselves.”

“Wait. What's _his_ name?” Ryan asked.

“Sexb//ang. If he wants to tell you his real name he will.” Arin rubbed a hand over his face. “And he probably will because he’s an idiot with a big, trusting heart.”

“Whatever you say, man.” Ryan got up and went to the kitchen. “Do you have anything to eat?”

Ryan shuffled through the freezer before finding some chicken fingers. He yelled back and forth with Matt about how many he wanted before deciding to empty the bag. Ryan set the microwaved chicken on the table, and Matt stretched his legs out across his lap.

“Glad you guys can make yourself at home again.” Arin muttered, though he really was glad to have the two of them back. He reached for a chicken finger, but stopped when he heard someone opening the door.

“Hey baby bear! I bought more chickie… fingers…” Dan was surprised by the strangers on Arin’s couch, but quickly recovered. He kicked off his boots and hung his jacket while introducing himself. “Hi! I'm Sexb//ang. It’s nice to meet you guys. You must be new interviews for us.”

“Did… Did you not get my text?” Arin stifled a laugh.

“Sure didn't!” Dan walked over to Arin, panicked, but smiling.

Matt, Ryan, and Arin all started laughing. Dan huffed, “What text Ego?”

“These are two of my friends. I met them through Connect.” Arin grabbed Dan’s arm and pulled him down onto the couch.

“I'm Ryan, that's Matt, and yes those are our real names.” Ryan grabbed another piece of chicken and split it with Matt.

“Cool." Dan tucked his legs up under him. He had to fight the instinct to curl up against Arin’s side. “I’m Dan. Or Danny. Whatever. Sorry I'm in my pj’s.”

Arin pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and threw it around Dan’s shoulders before pulling him closer. “Why didn't you put on actual clothes?”

“I didn't expect there to be people here and I wanted to be comfy.” Dan blushed as he remembered he had on mismatching blue pajama pants with multicolored dinosaurs and a grey shirt with Toad riding Yoshi. Not to mention his hair that was sticking up at odd angles since he took his stocking hat off.

Matt and Ryan glanced at each other, thinking the same thing. They hadn't seen Arin act like this in years, since he’d met his old partner. The first time they had ever met Arin was at a training facility Connect owned on the edge of town. He’d terrified both Matt and Ryan at first. They had heard of him before and knew he was the best at what he did. In any other situation, they would have been thrilled, but the three became friends pretty quick and were hanging out outside work a mere month later.

    Then Clara happened. They noticed him changing, but couldn’t do anything about it. After Arin had cut them off, Suzy still kept them updated. She told them he’d only become more paranoid and skittish around everyone. Well, until he met Dan.

“So, uh. How did you guys meet?” Matt asked.

“Arin ran into me on a subway, stole my money, then kidnapped me for a weekend.” Dan grinned devilishly.

Arin rolled his eyes in return. “I was asked to protect him for an afternoon, but Connect had a few issues. It ended up being an entire weekend. So I took him out of town.”

“Okay so how did that lead to you working together?” Ryan was still confused.

Arin turned red and mumbled “I may have implied he'd be killed if he didn't.”

“Which,  in his defense, I probably would have been because I'm a fucking idiot."

Arin tightened his arm around Dan's shoulder, “Yeah but it's endearing. It's part of your charm.”

“Are you two Dating?” Matt asked after a minute of silence. carefully watched Arin. He was really good at lying, Matt was just incredibly perceptive.

“Nah. Just friends.” Dan pat Arin’s knee.

“Yep… Just close friends.” Arin tried to act casual but Matt saw through it. Apparently Ryan saw through it too, as he kicked Matt’s ankle.

“Huh... “ Ryan crossed his arms over his chest. “Nice.”

Matt and Ryan smiled devilishly at Arin, who flushed red again and glared back. Dan noticed this silent exchange and wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but he did understand it involved something with him and Arin. He shifted away from him, worming his way out from under his arm. Dan shrugged the blanket off and stood up. “I’m going to go put the groceries away before they thaw out.”

“Yeah we’re gonna get going.” Matt jumped up off the couch and pulled Ryan up.

“I’ll see you guys out.”  Arin turned to Dan. “We can watch a movie or something once they leave.”

He nodded, not making eye contact with Arin, and headed towards the kitchen. This left Arin shoving Matt and Ryan out his front door and into the hallway. Once the door shut, Arin quietly lost his shit. “Listen. I know you guys know me a little too well. I have no problem if you embarrass me. But I expressly told you to leave Dan out of it. Now I’ve got to go in and answer questions from him that I really don’t want to.”

“Listen dude.” Matt put his hand on Arin’s shoulder. “All I’m saying is if he got that embarrassed, maybe he’s a little gay too.”

“Please leave. Now.” Arin shook his head. “And call me next time you want to come over.”

Arin watched Matt and Ryan bicker and shove each other as they walked down the hall. He brushed off what they said about Dan. He knew he was just an affectionate person, and that’s all it was. In the almost two months Arin had known him he’d never even mentioned an interest in dating men. Then again, he’d never expressed and exclusive interest in women either. Arin shook his head. It didn’t matter. Dan wasn’t so flighty with him anymore, but he still refused to get into a serious relationship, and that’s what Arin would want. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Maybe one day…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah so i really like this chapter. i hope you do too. i love you for still reading this.


	10. FUCK THIS FUCKING THANKSGIVING CHAPTER

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I had a really hard time writing this chapter so I decided to make them temporary title i wrote in anger, the permanent title.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! special thanks to [vinndetta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vinndetta) for one of their fics that gave me the inspiration to finish this/rewrite the chapter! check their stuff out! its real good!

Dan was wandering through the grocery store by his house, attempting to decide which two side dishes to make for Thanksgiving. It was proving to be far more difficult than he imagined, as he had no idea how to cook. Dan still had two days, but he wanted to get this figured out sooner rather than later. Especially since everyone else already knew what they were making. Then, there was the subject of decorating his house. He’d found out Suzy and Holly and Arin went all out when it came to Holiday decorations.

He left the groceries and headed towards the seasonal aisle. Maybe while looking at something else would help him figure out what he was going to make. He picked up a few plastic pumpkins and set them in the cart, then turned in a circle. There was so much to choose from, and this was something else he’d never been good at. Dan pushed his hair out of his face and groaned. Why did everyone have to come to his house? _Because you volunteered your house, Dummy._ Though it was still small, his town-home was far bigger than anyone else’s apartment.

“You alright there? You seem to be having some sort of crisis.” A giggly voice asked from behind him.

He turned around to find the girl from a few weeks earlier, “Oh. Hello again.”

“It seems like I’m following you this time.” She took a step around her cart, suddenly serious. “But really. Are you okay?”

“Ugh... No.” Dan sighed. “I’ve got... I’ve got like five people coming over for Thanksgiving and I have absolutely no idea what I should cook or how to cook or how to decorate... Or anything really”

The woman laughed and walked over to Dan’s cart, examining the contents. “Well. For starters, you should probably get a tablecloth, and, unless you want to be washing dishes all night, some festive, cute paper plates and plastic silverware.”

She walked a little further down the aisle and Dan followed her, “Right… I’m sorry, what was your name?”

She put on her sweetest smile and ran a hand through her hair, “My name is Clara. What’s yours?”

“Danny. I… I think these will work?” They stood side by side, looking at the plastic tablecloths and paper plates, while he pretended to have any idea of what defined “festive and cute.”

“Yeah. I think those would be great, Danny.” She pulled a small, artificial hay bale from a shelf and threw it in his cart. “This is also nice. Hay just screams fall, you know? How many people do you have coming again?”

“There’s five coming, so six altogether.” Danny found a bag of fake “fall harvest food”, as the label called it, and threw that in the basket as well.

“And you said they’re all friends? No family?” Clara knew he hadn’t said, but wanted to see just how much he was paying attention to the conversation.

“Right. I’ve got my three best friends, and then these two guys that I’ve only met once. But the other three insist they’re super nice and I should invite them, anyway.” Dan rolled his eyes, not seeing the smirk on Clara’s face. Dan was as clueless and flighty as his ex had said. She could probably openly stalk Dan and he’d be none the wiser. The only hindrance she’d face would be Arin,Suzy, and Holly. There’s no way Matt and Ryan would remember her well enough. Besides, if they did, she could take care of the, fairly quickly.

“You should make macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes. You can buy the boxed stuff and have it done in thirty minutes. Plus you don’t have to be able to cook at all.”

“Yeah…And Arin loves mac and cheese.” He mumbled, mostly to himself. Then turned and smiled at Clara, his voice softening . “Thanks for all your help. I hope I run into you again sometime soon.”

“Yeah, no problem Danny.” Clara smiled and waved as he walked away.

Dan was elbow deep and cursing into a pot of mashed potatoes when all of his friends got to his house for Thanksgiving. He’d stupidly changed his mind at the last second and decided to make the potatoes and mac and cheese from scratch instead of out of the box. The macaroni had turned out fantastic, but the potatoes were giving him hell. He could barely hear the knocking on the door over the mixer in his hands. He yelled for everyone to come in, instead of acting like a proper host and answering the door himself. He dumped more milk and butter into the pot, hoping the potatoes would thin out some.

Ryan came in first, Matt right behind him, each carrying a store bought pie. “Hey dude. Can we put these in the fridge.”

“Yep.” Dan grumbled. “Don’t fucking care.”

Suzy and Holly came in next more side dishes. Holly gave him a tight hug from behind “Happy Thanksgiving, Danny!”

Suzy set her dish down, then checked his pot of potatoes before grabbing the milk jug. She poured even more in, enough to worry Dan that the potatoes would be soup. “Put the mixer on the highest setting, Sexb//ang, and go to town… And happy thanksgiving.”

She leaned up and kissed his cheek before following the other three into the living room. Sure enough, in less than a minute, the potatoes were the perfect consistency. It wasn’t until Dan set the mixer down that he realized he hadn’t seen Arin. He grabbed a paper towel to wipe his hands off with, before heading into the living room. As he walked past his front door it swung open, revealing a breathless Arin and a very large foil wrapped turkey.

“Sorry I’m late. I was seeing my mom.” He smiled at Dan, before yelling. “In the kitchen guys. I’m starving, let’s eat!”

“Happy Thanksgiving, by the way” He gave Arin a small pat on the back.

“Happy Thanksgiving, Dan.”

They all crowded around Dan’s tiny kitchen table, having to leave the food on the counters just so they had somewhere to eat. Dan soon found out Suzy, Holly, and Arin had been right. Inviting Matt and Ryan was a great idea. They bickered like they were brothers and seemed to turn the most normal sentences into a joke.

Once they’d finished eating everyone pitched in to help Dan clean up the dishes, before they settled into the living room. Dan wanted to watch the football game, but he seemed to be the only one. He was overruled in favor of the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, though everyone agreed to let him check the score during the commercials. None of them talked all that much, instead sitting in comfortable silence and playing on their phones.

Dan continued to surprise himself with how close he had gotten to Matt and Ryan in just a few short weeks. They were stretched out on the loveseat, facing opposite directions with their feet in each others faces, and sharing a blanket. When he found out they were trained assassins he was a little apprehensive, but now they were like the younger brothers Dan never had. He let out a heavy sigh, his thoughts turning to his own family he doesn’t talk to. Right before she’d cut ties with Dan, he’d found out his sister was expecting her second child, another son. His nephews probably didn’t remember him, but he wished they did. He wished he’d gotten his act together sooner.

Dan let out a small laugh at the thought of even having his act together now. He could see his family’s reaction upon hearing, _“Yeah, guys. I hang out with a bunch of criminals. The usual run down: a con artist, two disguise and surveillance experts… Oh and two professionally trained assassins.”_ His family would probably move states and change their names. Dan shook his head and reached for the TV remote. There was a very real possibility that his entire family had moved and Dan wouldn’t have even known about it.

Arin stirred from his section of the couch, leaning over and setting his head on Dan’s shoulder, “Why the face and the sighing, buddy?”

“Just… Thinking about my family… Or lack thereof I guess.” Dan shrugged.

“Yeah… I get that. But sometimes family isn’t… Family, you know? It’s not always the people who raised you. Sometimes the people you meet in your twenties or thirties are a better family than the ones who raised you.” Arin still sounded groggy and like he was ready to go back to sleep, but he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

“Sure.” Dan could tell himself that all he wanted that his friends were all the family he needed, but it didn’t make a difference.

“Dan, I know you don’t want to believe me, but I promise you all of us here love you and care about you.”

“Arin… That’s not it. I miss _my_ family. I miss my sister and my parents. I have two nephews and I’ve never even met one of them. My parents celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary and I wasn’t there. Do you know how awful that feels?” Dan ran a hand over his face. He didn’t want to discount how close he was with any of his friends, but it just wasn’t _quite_ the same.

“I… I don’t… But I’m really sorry.”

Arin stood and moved to wake up the rest of the group, they all had somewhere they needed to be. They all noticed the shift in Dan’s mood from earlier and seemed reluctant to leave, but he politely pushed them out the door. Dan just needed to get out and get his mind off of everything. He waited a few minutes before grabbing his own coat and keys and heading out the door.


End file.
